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Repressive Polcies
During the 1880s many repressive policies appeared but each for different reasons. An example would be a Repressive Indian language policy was part of a cultural genocide campaign designed to “civilize” Indians. -
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Historical Development of Linguistic and Immigration Restrictionism
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First English-only States
During this period, the American Protective Association promoted English-only school laws, which Illinois and Wisconsin adopted in 1889. -
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Beginnings of Literacy Tests for Immigrants
The 1890s witnessed the founding of the Immigration Restriction League as well as early agitation for a literacy test that would require any immigrant wishing to settle in the United States to have the ability to read 40 words in any language. -
German Instruction in Elementary schools
In 1900, over 600,000 children were recieving all or part of their instruction in German. -
Naturalization Act Passed
The Naturalization Act of 1906 stipulated that to become naturalized U.S. citizens, immigrants must be able to speak English. -
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Push for Monolingualism
From 1918 to 1920, the Bureau of Naturalization and the Bureau of Education of the United States sponsored bills that “provided for substantial federal aid to states, on a dollar-matching basis, to finance the teaching of English to aliens and native illiterates”. During this time frame all German instruction was eliminated from schools because it was considered un-American. -
Meyer v. Nebraska
The Supreme Court declared Nebraska’s prohibition against teaching foreign languages in elementary schools to be unconstitutional on the basis of the 14th Amendment. -
The Launch of Sputnik
The former Soviet Union launched Sputnik. -
National Defense Education Act Enacted
This act began primarily because of the launch of Sputnik. One of the act’s primary goals was to raise the level of foreign-language education in the United States. To accomplish this mission, generous fellowships were awarded to promising foreign-language teachers. -
Bilingual Education Succesful in Florida
The Cuban community in 1963 established a highly successful two- way bilingual education program at Coral Way Elementary School in Dade County, Florida. It was a success because of the supportive role of professional Cuban parents, the availability of well-trained Cuban teachers in the area, and federal assistance through the Cuban Refugee Act. -
Naturalization Act Revoked
1965 Immigration Act revoked the Naturalization Act of 1906. As a result of the 1965 Immigration Act, larger numbers of Asians and Latin Americans started to enter the country and in U.S. classrooms, where bilingual instruction was needed. -
Bilingual Education Act Enacted
To aid and monitor the education of English language learners through mother-tongue and English education, the federal government enacted the Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) in 1968. This act was a step in the right direction because it stepped away from the sink or swim ideaology that was used in most educational practices. -
Equal Educational Opportunities Act Enacted
This act states that: No state shall deny equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, by . . . the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs. -
Lau v. Nichols
This was a class action suit representing 1,800 Chinese students who alleged discrimination on the grounds that they could not achieve academically because they did not understand the instruction of their English-speaking teachers. The Supreme Court concluded that equal treatment of English-speaking and non-English-speaking students did not constitute equal educational opportunity and, therefore, violated non-English-speaking students’ civil rights. -
Castañeda v. Pickard
In this case, the school district in Raymondville, Texas, was charged with violating the civil rights of ELLs under the Equal Education Opportunities Act of 1974. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals established a three-step test for determining whether school districts were taking “appropriate action” as required by the act for assessing programs serving language-minority students. -
California Proposition 187 Passed
In 1994, California voters approved Proposition 187, a ballot initiative designed to sharply curb illegal immigration through strong restrictions on the social and educational services that undocumented immigrants could receive. -
California Proposition 227 Passed
This proposition said that English should be the primary medium of instruction for language-minority students. Proposition 227 put bilingual education programs in California into a state of panic. This meant that English learners were receiving less help than before in their native languages.
